''The Mattei Affair'' ( it, Il Caso Mattei) is a 1972 film directed by

Francesco Rosi Francesco Rosi (; 15 November 1922 – 10 January 2015) was an Italian film director. His film ''The Mattei Affair'' won the Palme d'Or at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival. Rosi's films, especially those of the 1960s and 1970s, often appeared to hav ...

. It depicts the life and mysterious death of

Enrico Mattei Enrico Mattei (; 29 April 1906 – 27 October 1962) was an Italian public administrator. After World War II he was given the task of dismantling the Italian petroleum agency Agip, a state enterprise established by the Fascist regime. ...

, an Italian businessman who in the aftermath of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

managed to avoid the sale of the nascent Italian oil and hydrocarbon industry to US companies and developed them in the

Eni Eni S.p.A. () is an Italian multinational energy company headquartered in Rome. Considered one of the seven "supermajor" oil companies in the world, it has operations in 69 countries with a market capitalization of US$54.08 billion, as of 11 Ap ...

, a state-owned oil company which rivaled the ' seven sisters' for oil and gas deals in Northern African and

Middle Eastern The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europea ...

countries. The film shared the ''

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

'' with ''

The Working Class Goes to Heaven ''The Working Class Goes to Heaven'' (Italian: ''La classe operaia va in paradiso''), released in the US as ''Lulu the Tool'', is a 1971 political drama film directed by Elio Petri. It depicts a factory worker's realisation of his own condition as ...

'' at the

1972 Cannes Film Festival The 25th annual Cannes Film Festival was held from 4 to 19 May 1972. The Palme d'Or went to the Italian films ''The Working Class Goes to Heaven'' by Elio Petri and '' The Mattei Affair'' by Francesco Rosi. The festival opened with the French fi ...

. Italian star

Gian Maria Volonté Gian Maria Volonté (9 April 1933 – 6 December 1994) was an Italian actor, including roles in four Spaghetti Western films: Ramón Rojo in Sergio Leone's ''A Fistful of Dollars'' (1964) and El Indio in Leone's '' For a Few Dollars More'' (19 ...

was the leading actor in both films. The film is an innovative hybrid of documentary and fiction, representing Francesco Rosi's concept of cine-inchieste (film investigation). The flashback structure shows the influence of ''

Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American drama film produced by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Herman J. Mankiewicz. The picture was Welles' first feature film. ''Citizen Kane'' is frequently cited ...

'' and Rosi's ''

Salvatore Giuliano Salvatore Giuliano (; Sicilian: Turiddu or Sarvaturi Giulianu; 16 November 1922 – 5 July 1950) was an Italian bandit, who rose to prominence in the disorder that followed the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943. In September of that year, Gi ...

'' (1962). Rosi remains faithful to his neo-realist roots with on-location shooting and non-professional actors. The film is interspersed with footage of the director trying to find his friend, the investigative journalist Mauro De Mauro, who disappeared while doing research for the film. He was killed by the

Sicilian Mafia The Sicilian Mafia, also simply known as the Mafia and frequently referred to as Cosa nostra (, ; "our thing") by its members, is an Italian Mafia-terrorist-type organized crime syndicate and criminal society originating in the region of Sicily ...

, but like the death of Mattei, De Mauro's case was never solved.Bayman, Louis (ed.) (2011). ''Directory of World Cinema: Italy'', Intellect Books
p. 241
/ref>

Cast

- Enrico Mattei * Luigi Squarzina - Journalist * Furio Colombo - assistant * Gianfranco Ombuen - Ing. Ferrari *

Edda Ferronao Edda Ferronao is an Italian former stage, film and television actress.Bayman p. 241 Selected filmography * ''March's Child'' (1957) * '' Toto, Peppino and the Fanatics'' (1958) * ''The Conqueror of the Orient'' (1960) * ''Fountain of Trevi' ...

- Mrs. Mattei * Accursio Di Leo - Sicilian important man #1 * Giuseppe Lo Presti - Sicilian important man #2 *

Aldo Barberito Aldo may refer to: * Aldo (given name), male given name ** Aldo (footballer, born 1977) ** Aldo (footballer, born 1988) * Aldo Group, a worldwide chain of shoe stores * Aldosterone Aldosterone is the main mineralocorticoid steroid hormone pro ...

- Journalist Mauro De Mauro *

Dario Michaelis Dario is a masculine given name, etymologically related to Darius. Given name *Dario Allevi (born 1965), Italian politician *Dario Argento (born 1940), Italian film director * Dario Badinelli (born 1946), Italian triple jumper *Dario Bellezza (1 ...

- Carabinieri official * Peter Baldwin - McHale (journalist) * Franco Graziosi - Minister *

Elio Jotta Elio is an Italian male given name. Origin A name of dual origin, Elio is primarily a revival of it, Elio, label=none ( Helios), the Greek god of the Sun. it, Elio, label=none derives, through the Latin ''Helius'', from the Ancient Greek ...

- Head of commission * Luciano Colitti - Bertuzzi * Terenzio Cordova - Police official * Camillo Milli - Change teller * Jean Rougeul - American official *

- himself

References

External links

*
Cannes profile
1972 films 1970s business films Films about the Sicilian Mafia Films directed by Francesco Rosi Films set in 1962 Films set in the 1950s Italian drama films 1970s Italian-language films Palme d'Or winners Films with screenplays by Tonino Guerra Films scored by Piero Piccioni 1970s Italian films {{1970s-Italy-film-stub